Had a wonderful day, full of yummy homemade food, friend's flat explorations, and a view of the rubber boots I have to have.

The cool kids headed over to Kristen's place for brunch, which was no small affair. Fresh fruit, fried potatoes, quiche, french toast, bacon, a fruit and rice dish, and tortes rounded out the list of goodies.

I have to share my recipe for the brown rice and fruit - it turned out "tres bon" according to the fans who, in some cases, went back for more.

What You Will Need:

1 cup of brown rice, washed and cooked (anywhere from 25 - 40 mins depending on type)
1 cup of vanilla soy milk (you might want a bit more)
6 dried apricots (sliced/or diced)
1/2 an apple (diced)
1 peach (cubed if possible)
cinnamon (your discretion)

*This dish is incredibly versatile and calls out to your creative souls to be as wacky as you want with any/all of the components. I have made banana/blueberry versions, strawberry and chocolate soya milk versions - Be insane.


The Way To Do It:

Before the party started, Kristen brewed up a batch of brown rice, infusing the boiling water with a fair amount of cinnamon.

When I arrived, after inspecting her flat, which is kickass and includes a bathroom that I am considering buying a swimming membership for, I set to work slamming myself around the kitchen, taking advantage of Kristen's hippie-kitchen-free-love approach with her utensils and various kitchen aids (no kitchen nazis in this house).

I diced the apricots, cubed the apple and peaches.
I poured half of the rice into a non-stick pot with the apricots and 1/2 cup of soya milk which I set on the stove to simmer, adding cinnamon whenever I was feeling saucy.

After about 15 minutes I threw in the remaining rice, peaches and apple, tossed in the soya milk - giving the pot about another 10 minutes of heat. At this point, if available, I would have added some crushed walnuts and/or pecans, but on Sundays in Brussels: (hungry) beggars, can't be choosers.

The dish was a success and could easily be saved for a lunch/dinner side (would be great with soy/garlic infused tofu steaks and salad), it would also do wonders in the fridge for another breakfast (But thanks to Cheryl we won't be saving our rice for more than 3 days anymore).

While the rice was busy boiling down and reaching its beautifully yummy consistency I set to work on two fondues - one vegan (with dark peppermint chocolate and soymilk) and the other non-vegan (with milk chocolate and heavy cream).

To accompany the chocolate party I crafted a plate of sliced apple, sliced peach, banana squares, some whole dried apricots and whole strawberries. For effect, I nabbed some of the fresh blueberries and raspberries brought by Bethany (who has become my Tofu/Meat Wilson sandwich buddy).

A great way to spend a Sunday!

We capped the afternoon off with a stop in Place Flagey, amassing on a cute and tres trendy cafe where I went totally out of acceptable cool territory by pulling a Benjamin (circa 2003) when adding my own soya milk to an earl grey tea...well, when you are carrying around a tetra pack of soya milk and you have a cup of tea in front of you...what the hell?

My Monastic Rice Pudding Party

While penning (or keying rather) this post I am enjoying the second podcast in the Medieval Studies Series - which is researched, written and read by some fellow who has the most excellent medieval-my-real-name-is-Beuwolf kind of voice. It is excellent. A great friend to the delightful desert I managed to portage all the way home from the Carrot Common.

The Carrot Common, which use to be known more simply as "The Big Carrot" has gone (in my opinion) from being a homey, authentic-like healthy/organic/Earth-minded shop to a scrubby version of Whole Foods. Gone are the dreadlocks, gone are the millet crusted cookies, and welcomed are the gentrified yuppie-puppies who are scanning through my bulk raisins wearing their LL Bean Hemp shirt with their eyes plastered with a fake smile that shines through their 240 dollar Alfred Sung specs. I know this is a cynical review. I know. I am just finding myself frustrated with the commercialization of a lifestyle that I think is important and essential to the world we are destroying. Organic, wellness, health, yoga, digestive enzymes - all of these things have become buzz words that sit next to latte, apple, lulu lemon and Volkswagen. Being well, being vegan, 'going' organic has all become precious and elevated. I want the healthiest and most organic to be available to everyone or none. Damn it.

Health and wellness should not be a pop label. Rather, more like a Gregorian chat - deep and pervasive and lasting and, in a most monastic way, available to the lay, to the most indigent to the most feeble.

Let's get on this.

After my rant:
Let me say that the Carrot's own brand of vegan rice pudding is quite good. Although, personally, I would have gone without the maple syrup and apple juice. I might just have to try this weekend and see what I can whip up for myself.

Yummmmmm